Metal-heating furnace.



Z. B. LEONARD.

METAL HEATING FURNACE. APPLICATioN FILED MAY2o.191e.

Patented 001;. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET! TTOR/VEYJ Z. B. LEONARD.

METAL HEATING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2o. 191s.

Patented Oct. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 /A/VE/v mi? ZlLEoA/AE'D.

ATTUHNEN ZENAS BELDON LEONARD, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

METAL-HEATING- FURNACE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented filet. 2, 191'?.

Application filed May 20, 1916. Serial No. 98,720.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ZENAs BELDON LEON- ARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal- Heating Furnaces, of which the following is. a specification.

My invention comprises a heating furnace embodying means to convey numerous strips of metal collectively or in batches through the heating chamber thereof, including a device to deliver the strips in definitely assembled. relation in batches to said conveying means, and also a device to remove and carry away each batch of strips subsequent to the heating operation. The invention is especially applicable to the heating of narrow Hat strips or. plates of different lengths'adapted to form a laminated vehicle spring, and to be used with cambering and quenching apparatus arranged in near proximity to the discharge end of the furnace.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal section of the furnace on line 1 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, of the furnace on line 3 3, Fig. 2, showing the metal strips elevated above the floor of the furnace, and Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4 4, Fig. 1, showing the discharge .end of the furnace with vthe metal strips deposited on the transverse carrier and with the horizontal transfer elevator in-a lowered position.

The furnace consi-sts of an elongated brick structure 2 subdivided horizontally by a false bottom 3 to provide chambers and compartments above and below the same. Thus, one end of the furnace has a receiving chamber4 separated from a central heating chamber 5 which communicates with a discharge chamber 6 at the opposite end of the furnace, both endI chambers 4 and 6 being cut of from the heating chamber 5 by depending balile walls 7 extending into close proximity to bottom 3, but with sufficient space therebetween to permit the passage of the material into and out ofthe chamber. A number of gas or oil burners 9 are arranged at intervals at one side of the furnace to furnish the desired heat for heating the material which is caused to travel longitudinally through chamber 5 by the means here-4 inafter described, and a vertical flue or a series of lues 10 in the arched roof 11 permit the products of combustion to escape. The wall 3 forming the bottom of heating chamber is divided longitudinally by parallel slots 12 extending the full length of the furnace and lthe intermediate sections of said wall 3 between the slots are supported by I beams 13 resting at their ends in the end walls of the furnace and supported at intermediate points by piers or cross walls 14, and a fabricated metal frame composed of parallel beams 15 and 16 of channel iron unitedby cross pieces 17, is arranged beneath floor or bottom 3 in the base compartments 5 to support stringers or rows 18 of fire brick in the slots 12, whereby the stri s of metal 19 which are to be heated may e lifted and conveyed through the furnace. In brief, the metal and brick frame described provides a transfer device in conjunction with means to raise and lower and reciprocate the same, the means for this purpose in the present instance comprising cams 20 onl transverse shafts 21 operated by bevel gears 22 and a power shaft 23 located outside of the furnace walls, including a crank shaft 24 driven by bevel gears 25 from power` shaft 23. The cams raise and lower beams 15 and the crank imparts a reciprocal movement to said beams through connecting links 26, but any other suitable operating mechanism may be used, whereby both vertical and longitudinal movements may be given to the supporting stringers 18 to carry the stock step by step longitudinally through the furnac Feeding of the stock and discharge thereof is obtained by similar movableY carriers 27 and 28 adapted to travel transversely within the end chambers 4 and 6 of the furnace. These carriers comprise curved forks suspended by rollers from overhead tracks 29 and the prongs or branches of the forks are spaced apart to permit the stringers 18 to be raised thereinto when either carrier 1s at rest in its respective end chamber. When this occurs with a loaded carrier 27 in receiving chamber 4 the batch of strips 19 thereon are lifted from the prongs by the stringers 18 and moved collectively as prearranged into the heating chamber 5 by aforward movement of the stringers, vertical uplift being obtained by the cams 20 preliminary to a forward movement by the crank shaft 23. When the limit of forward movement of the stringers is reached the cams lower the Stringer frame and the batch of strips 19 are deposited on the floor 3 within the heating chamber where they remain until the stringers are elevated in the next cycle of movement to raise and carry the same batch of strips a definite distance farther inward into the heating chamber for deposit on the floor in the same way. This transfer occurs repeatedly not only with one batch of strips but with all the batches in the furnace and each batch upon entering the discharge chamber 6 is deposited on the prongs of a carrier 28 awaiting to receive them. Following a lowering movement of the stringers, carrier 28 with its load is .drawn or pushed out of chamber 6 upon the inclined portion 30 of track 29 to discharge the strips by gravity upon cambering dies in a cambering and quenching machine, not shown. The same carrier is then returned to its proper place in end chamber 6 to take the next batch of strips discharged by stringers 19, or a series of such carriers may beI arranged to travel successively through the chamber for this pur ose, especially where openings are provi ed at opposite sides as shown in the receiving chamber l where successive delivery of separate batches of strips is adapted to proceed by a series of carriers traveling in the same direction. The construction of the apparatus is such that all the different length strips that enter into a single laminated vehicle spring-may be conveyed collectively through the furnace and delivered to a cambering and quenching machine without disturbing their assembly, and with the substantial advantage of -having all the strips of each batch heated and treated exactly alike. Uniformity in production is one result, the output large, and the operations effected with speed and considerable economy -f as compared with present practices.

What I claim is:

1. A furnace having a heating chamber and means to convey strips of metal of `different lengths in separate batches in prearranged alinement through said furnace, in comblnation wlth means to receive each batch of strips successively from said conveying means and means to project the strips endwlse from said receiving means lnto other treating apparatus.

2. A furnace having a device to deliver a batch of metal strips in pre-arranged separated relation thereinto, means to convey each batch of strips as pre-arranged step by step through the furnace, means to remove each batch of strips collectively in separated relation from the furnace and means to discharge each batch of strips endwise to other apparatus.

3. A furnace therein for feeding groups of metal strips of different lengths therethrough in the hori- `zontal plane and with the strips of each group separated, means to deliver each group' of strips to said conveyer in pre-arranged separated and staggered relation, and means to remove each group of strips from saidconveyer in the same arrangement and ordery as delivered to the furnace.

. 4. A heating furnace having a heating chamber, ahorizontal conveyer extending through and beyond each end of said chamber,and conveyers at each end of said chamber having means to co-act with said horizontal conveyer to transfer a plural number of metal strips alined in definite pre-arranged relation in separate groups successively through the furnace.

5. A heating furnace having a conveyer comprising parallel supports longitudi- -nally movable therein for the material to be having a conveyer having a conveyer located in its bottom for the material to be heated, y

in combination with an elevated track at one end of the furnace having an inclined portion, and a carrier suspended from said track having prongs to co-act with said conveyer to receive the material from said conveyer and to be tilted by the inclined portion of the track. f y

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in' presence of two witnesses.

ZENAS BELDON LEONARD.

Witnesses:

R. A. TowNsEND, GEO. E. KRICKER. 

